January 29, 2010 (Bessan, France) – Canada’s Collette Bourgonje and Mark Arendz both skied to the bronze-medal position on the podium at an IPC World Cup cross-country ski sprint race on Thursday in Bessan, France. Saskatoon’s Bourgonje, who is a five-time Olympian and winner for four Paralympic Winter Games medals, finished in third spot in the women’s sit-ski division after clocking-in at 3:20.84 in her first race of the season.

Bourgonje finished just back of the lead time set at 3:12.79 by Italy’s Francesa Porcellato.

The medal-haul continued for Canada in France with 19-year-old Mark Arendz celebrating the first IPC World Cup of his three-year career. Arendz, of Springton, P.E.I., finished third with a time of 3:30.64 in the men’s standing category. Arendz has two-fourth-place finishes in his career.

IIkka Tuomisto, of Finland, won the gold with a time of 3:26.48.

Meanwhile, Canada’s Jody Barber had another solid day after her silver-medal finish in Wednesday’s biathlon competition. Barber, of Smithers, B.C., was sixth in the women’s standing category. The Ukraine’s Oleksandra Kononova finished on top at 4:13.24.

Vancouver’s Mary Benson also hit the start line in the women’s standing race and finished in 14th spot at 6:20.23.

Robbi Weldon and Brian Berry, of Thunder Bay, Ont., edged closer to the podium in the women’s visually impaired sprint. With Berry as her guide, Weldon clocked a time of 4:19.45 to finish in eight spot. Ottawa’s Margarita and Robert D’Arras teamed up to finish 13th at 4:50.58.

Ottawa’s Alexi Novikov and Jamie Stirling were the only one’s entered in the men’s visually impaired race with a time of 4:13.23.

Cross Country Canada is the governing body of cross-country skiing in Canada. Its 51,000 members include athletes, coaches, officials and skiers of all ages and abilities, including those on Canada’s National Ski Teams and Para-Nordic Ski Teams. Cross-country skiing is Canada’s optimal winter sport and recreational activity with more than one million Canadians participating annually.

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